Britain is ready to listen to the Islamic extremists who have been holding Kenneth Bigley hostage in Iraq for two weeks, but not to negotiate with them, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said yesterday.
"We've made it clear, we have a policy which we adhere to, strictly and always, that we don't negotiate with hostage-takers," Straw told GMTV television.
"But we want Mr. Bigley released," he said from Brighton, southern England, where the governing Labour Party was wrapping up its annual conference yesterday. "Were the hostage takers to get in touch with us, we would obviously listen to what they have to say."
He added: "That in no sense undermines our position and it may be that they are saying things that are consistent with our position which can secure Mr. Bigley's release."
Bigley, 62, an engineer from Liverpool, was seized from his Baghdad home on Sept. 16 along with two US colleagues who have since been executed. He appeared in a grainy video, aired on Wednesday on al-Jazeera television, sitting in a cage as he renewed a plea for British Prime Minister Tony Blair to save him.
Bigley is being held by the militant group Tawhid and Jihad.
Speaking in Brighton on Wednesday, Blair said Tawhid and Jihad had "made no attempts to make contact with us at all."
"Of course, if they did make contacts, that would be something we would immediately respond to," Blair added.
Meanwhile, al-Jazeera yesterday showed footage of 10 new hostages seized in Iraq by militants.
Al-Jazeera said the 10, including six Iraqis, two Lebanese and two Indonesian women, were taken by The Islamic Army in Iraq. The group had claimed responsibility for seizing two French journalists in recent weeks.
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY: Taiwan shares the same values as those that fought in WWII, and nations must unite to halt the expansion of a new authoritarian bloc, Lai said The government yesterday held a commemoration ceremony for Victory in Europe (V-E) Day, joining the rest of the world for the first time to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Taiwan honoring V-E Day signifies “our growing connections with the international community,” President William Lai (賴清德) said at a reception in Taipei on the 80th anniversary of V-E Day. One of the major lessons of World War II is that “authoritarianism and aggression lead only to slaughter, tragedy and greater inequality,” Lai said. Even more importantly, the war also taught people that “those who cherish peace cannot
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo on Friday expressed concern over the rate at which China is diversifying its military exercises, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Saturday. “The rates of change on the depth and breadth of their exercises is the one non-linear effect that I’ve seen in the last year that wakes me up at night or keeps me up at night,” Paparo was quoted by FT as saying while attending the annual Sedona Forum at the McCain Institute in Arizona. Paparo also expressed concern over the speed with which China was expanding its military. While the US
‘FALLACY’: Xi’s assertions that Taiwan was given to the PRC after WWII confused right and wrong, and were contrary to the facts, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday called Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) claim that China historically has sovereignty over Taiwan “deceptive” and “contrary to the facts.” In an article published on Wednesday in the Russian state-run Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Xi said that this year not only marks 80 years since the end of World War II and the founding of the UN, but also “Taiwan’s restoration to China.” “A series of instruments with legal effect under international law, including the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Declaration have affirmed China’s sovereignty over Taiwan,” Xi wrote. “The historical and legal fact” of these documents, as well
RSS